Introduction
Autonomous vehicles are going to be a game changer for the transportation industry. They will transform how we get around, make our roads safer and allow us to live longer. The problem is that they won’t be affordable or widespread enough to benefit the majority of Americans anytime soon.
Autonomous vehicles will not be affordable for everyone.
You might be thinking that all of these expenses are worth it. After all, you get to relax in the backseat while your car drives itself, right? Well, there’s no doubt that autonomous vehicles will be much safer than human-driven ones–but they won’t necessarily be affordable for everyone who wants one.
Autonomous cars are still very expensive compared with regular cars (although prices will come down over time). And once they’re on the road, their maintenance costs will be higher because they have more electronics and sensors than traditional vehicles do; those parts wear out faster as well. Plus there’s insurance: You’ll need liability coverage if you own an autonomous vehicle and want to drive it yourself sometimes; otherwise an auto insurance company may refuse coverage altogether or charge extra for it
Autonomous vehicles will cost a lot to develop, build and maintain.
When you break down the cost of an autonomous vehicle, it’s clear that there’s more to consider than just what you pay for your ride. The development and construction of self-driving vehicles is expensive, but so is maintaining them once they hit the road.
The most obvious cost comes from developing AVs: in 2018 alone, Toyota invested $1 billion into its Intelligent Mobility division–a group dedicated entirely to creating cars that drive themselves. And Ford spent $4 billion researching robotics and artificial intelligence over five years starting in 2016–money it plans on spending even more of as we move closer toward 2020 when they hope their first self-driving car will hit shelves (and roads).
These investments seem necessary as well considering how much money automakers stand to lose if they don’t get ahead of this new trend right now: according to researchers at McKinsey & Company who studied over 200 companies involved with autonomous driving technology between 2014-2016 found that by 2030 these companies could generate up $7 trillion dollars worth annually!
Autonomous vehicles will need to be manufactured in large quantities to be affordable.
Autonomous vehicles will need to be manufactured in large quantities to be affordable.
The idea of an autonomous vehicle may seem like it’s going to be more affordable than its human-driven counterpart, but the reality is that they’re not going to be as widespread or accessible as you may think they are. Autonomous vehicles will cost a lot to develop, build and maintain (and repair), which means they’ll need to be manufactured in large quantities in order for them not only work out financially but also provide value enough so people will want one over their current mode of transportation.
Autonomous vehicles will require a substantial investment by consumers.
The cost of autonomous vehicles will be higher than conventional cars.
The reason for this is twofold: first, autonomous vehicles are much more complicated to build and maintain than standard vehicles; and second, the manufacturing process must be highly automated in order to meet the high demand for AVs.
Autonomous vehicles are not going to be as affordable or widespread as you may think they are
You may be thinking that autonomous vehicles are going to be affordable and widely used, but you would be wrong. Autonomous vehicles will not be as cheap or widespread as you might think they are.
First off, there’s the cost of development, building and maintaining these machines. It takes a lot of money and time for companies like Tesla or Google (who want to build their own AVs) to develop these cars–and they need large amounts of capital just in case something goes wrong along the way (which it always does). That means these companies have no choice but to sell their products at high prices if they want any chance at making back their investment before someone else beats them out with an even better product line-up!
Second: manufacturing costs matter too! If your company doesn’t manufacture enough units per month at its factory(ies), then it could easily lose money by producing less than desired output levels…and there goes all those hard-earned profits right down drain!
Conclusion
Autonomous vehicles are not going to be as affordable or widespread as you may think they are. They will cost a lot more than what people expect them to and this is because of several factors. The first one being that they need to be manufactured in large quantities before they can become affordable enough for everyone else. Secondly, the development costs involved with creating these vehicles will also be very high so expect prices starting from around $25,000 USD per vehicle which is double what most cars cost today!